


It's More Than Knitting Camp

by Fandomtrashed13



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series), Matilda (1996)
Genre: Except Quartermaster and Campbell, F/M, I've adopted almost everyone on the show, Matilda is my child, Other, hoooooOOOo boy, my first story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-02-04 11:39:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12770283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandomtrashed13/pseuds/Fandomtrashed13
Summary: She had lost the papers. How could she have been so careless?!





	1. Chapter 1

   "Adopt me, Ms. Honey!," Matilda exclaimed as she ran to said teacher's side. Ms. Honey stared down at her, eyes wide with evident shock on her face. "You could adopt me! " Matilda said, grinning up at her. She had been organizing her school supplies when a few papers fell to the floor. As Matilda picked them up she remembered finding the adoption papers years ago after discovering what the word "adoption" meant. A picture of her driving away from her home in a golden car with a man and a woman who ke pt on giving her loving looks filled her mind. Since then, she had kept the adoption papers in her backpack so that they would not get lost or damaged. If Ms.Honey said yes then both of them would be happy.  It was perfect!

   Her father's voice cut through. "Look, I don't have time for all of these legalities!" He moved forward to grab Matilda gain but she rushed past him saying, "One second, Dad. I have the adoption papers!" ' _They're in your bag,'_ her mind told her. ' _You put it there that one morning.'_ She unzipped her backpack and rummaged through it. 

   All that was there were her school supplies and one blue sweater.

   Matilda felt panic and her heart sink. "I do have it," she told the three adults who were watching her. "I got it from the library." She looked through it again, checking and double checking the other pockets. Nothing. ' _No, no, no, no, no, it has to be here! It HAS to!'_

   But the entire bag had been searched. Panic took her to Ms. Honey who placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't want to go with you!" she heard herself yell and was surprised; the beating of her heart seemed to drown out all other noises. "It's not fair! Ms. Honey treats me right and she listens to me and she loves me and you-!" 

   "Oh, for crying out loud! " her father yelled as well, cutting her off. "I don't have time for this! Come on ya little-"

    He marched up the steps and, with a firm grip on her shoulder, dragged her to the car where Michael watched with a blank expression. ' _Did you find them? Did you get rid of them?'_ It sounded like something he would do.

   "Wait!" Miss Honey hurried over to her mother who narrowed her eyes at the brunette. "Let me give her something. Just one thing. That's all I ask. Please."

   For a moment, everyone was quiet as both women stared at each other. Her mother was know full on glaring at Ms. Honey, lips pressed together into a thin line. Ms. Honey's jaw was clenched, her eyes filled with determination. The tension between the two was thick. In Matilda's eyes, she saw two mothers. One who should have been there, but ignored the job and one who was there and was ready to fill the place.

   At last, her mother nodded. With that, Ms. Honey disappeared into her house. After a minute or two, she returned with Lissy Doll in her hand. Brushing past her parents, the brunette knelt down and handed the doll to he young girl. Matilda stared at it and felt a lump in her throat. Wordlessly, she threw her arms around the women's neck and felt her's wrapping themselves tightly around her. "You are the brightest girl I know," Ms. Honey whispered, voice cracking just the slightest. "And one day you're going to change the world and I'll be so, so proud." Then, almost inaudibly she whispered, "My phone number is in your bag. Call me if things go bad. I'll get you. I love you, Matilda."

   And then she was gone, the car had started, and with a lurch, Matilda was leaving home. She twisted around in her seat to see Ms. Honey watching the car drive away and wondered if she was crying too because she definitely was.

   And it was because of the papers.

   She had lost the papers. How could she have been so careless?!

 


	2. This Life I Must Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into young Matilda Wormwood's life in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

   It had been four years since Matilda last saw Ms. Honey.

   During those four years so much had happened that Matilda could only see it as a mess. A large, long mess that will always be with her.

   After they had left California, Harry had pulled up to a gas station and it wasn't until he had paid for gas did he tell his wife that they weren't going to Guam. The argument about whether or not this was a good idea that followed had been the worst Matilda and Michael had witnessed. Both children sat with withdrawn up shoulders, shooting each other concerned looks often; it was one of the few moments when the Wormwood children had agreed on something and that was that they should stay silent until their parents had cooled down. It took two hours for them too.

   Matilda was certain that that car ride from California to Michigan was the worst and the most boring she had ever had. Her mother had not packed any of her books, only her clothes and some of her possessions including-fortunately-Wanda. Michael had almost ripped the doll's head off when his younger sister whacked him upside down the head with her backpack repeatedly until both Michael and his mother yelled at her to stop. He didn't even attempt to try and attack Lissy Doll, much to Matilda's relief. The rest of the car ride consisted of his parents chatting about houses and prices and jobs and just about anything. Michael would sometimes join in or he would play or one of his games. But his favorite thing to do was torment Matilda, calling her horrible names and insulting everything about her until she started crying. Not surprisingly, her parents did nothing.

   One day, when they had stopped at a diner and when both her mother and father had gotten into another argument, Zinnia ate with Matilda in a booth. Mid-way through their dinner, Matilda had looked up to see her mother staring at her with wide eyes that held a sad look in them. She had only seen that look in her mother's eyes whenever something truly awful had happened, something that you could not shake off. And for what felt like the first time in years, Zinnia had a full-on conversation with her daughter.

   First, she apologized for not understanding her all these years. Then, she explained how she had sensed that Matilda loved Ms. Honey more than her. And, no, she did not blame her and it wasn't her fault. What Zinnia really wanted to know was whether or not Matilda loved Ms. Honey like a mother. When said girl answered yes without batting an eyelash her mother had let out a humorless chuckle, looking toward the window. "Figures," she murmured. "I mean-I don't blame you and I'm surprised. It's just..." The blond woman's eyes met her daughters and in a soft voice said,"You're the only daughter I've ever had, Matilda. And I never understood you not one bit."

   "Why didn't you?" Matilda had asked in a soft voice as well. "You had all that time back home."

   "People get...easily distracted, ya know? And sometimes, they think that the distraction is good for them. Like, self-care or something"

   The conversation ended with Zinnia having to go to the bathroom and when she came back, Matilda noticed her eyes were red. 

   

* * *

   Finally,  _finally_ , they reached Michigan. Harry had bought a well-sized two-story house in a nice neighborhood. It did not have as much space as it did at their old home, but there was enough room for the family of four.

   Matilda was given her own room which was a small drop of relief for her; Michael's old room always had leftover food in there and any guests would most likely step on it. Once, her mother had stepped in a jam-filled donut and had screamed at the fact that her new black pumps were ruined. 

   The room had a closet, a small desk, a bed with plain covers and window overlooking the driveway. It all looked bleak and Matilda knew that she would be searching all over the house to find anything to give some life in her room. Maybe snag some of her mother's old, forgotten stuff such as accessories or long-forgotten clothes. Or she could find some money and buy new colorful bedsheets and maybe a lava lamp. Yes, she could see it happening. She would not let her family and their negativity loom over her like a shadow; there would be a flame somewhere. 

   After a few weeks, the Wormwoods had finally settled down. The three members of the family focused on their new TV and food while Matilda decorated her room and added new clothing to Wanda.

   Both her and Michael were sent to the same schools, Cesar E. Chazes Elementary School. Michale was in fourth grade and quickly befriended two boys who in his own words "get him." A boy in Matilda's grade named Colin Wood sat with her at lunch and the two began talking about the Magic Tree House Series.

   Just like on her first day at Crunchem Hall, Matilda shocked her math teacher with her math skills who, instead of going directly to the principal, kept her in after school. Mr. Brown asked her how she learned how to do math and who had taught her. When Matilda had arrived home, her father was waiting, livid.

   "Your math teacher called," he began. "So you've been lying about math, huh? Though you could be smart with me and your teacher? Thought you could be a snake? Well, keep on dreaming, you little brat!" And with that, he grabbed her by the arm and locked her in her room. The next day at math, Mr. Brown looked at Matilda with disapproving eyes, obviously believing whatever lies Harry had told him. Matilda was not surprised when several more cases happened over the weeks in all of her classes. It all ended with her being yelled at and being sent to her room with dinner.

   Every day was the same: wake up, get dressed, eat, walk to the bus and sit with alone, go to class(something that made her happy), have fun with her friends, go home, eat again, do homework, and read a new book from the school's library. It was like a broken record and was only disrupted whenever something happened to her parents be it bingo, Harry's "job", or a house party, the guests being her parent's friends. Her parents were, as always, neglectful. Michael would always bring his friends over and give Matilda and her father headaches from their rambunctious yelling and laughing. One or two of them would throw bits of food at Matilda who would retaliate with pieces of legos.

   Her powers had grown stronger ever since she had come to Michigan. The reason was because of first grade. The homework they have Matilda would be done in less than 5 minutes. The schoolwork? She would receive awed looks from the surrounding students who struggled with their multiplication. Irritation would grow inside of her and envy would be added to the mix whenever she did her brother's homework so that Michael would leave her alone. The only bright side was that her powers were still with her and Matilda used it at every chance she got.

   Matilda was miserable. Every day seemed so bleak she would not be surprised if everything turned grey. She missed California, with its warm weather and her friends at school. She hoped that they were well and the thought of Trunchbull coming back to reclaim the school left a sour taste in her mouth. Her friends took notice and took it upon themselves to find out why and to help. Colin would always ask her what she was reading and listened patiently as she went on and on about the topic. Abigail would sometimes bring snickerdoodle cookies for lunch and always gave the biggest one to Matilda. Savanna and Anthony would invite her over to either one's house after school. Kali would ask her small questions about her home life and she, Matilda, would answer knowing full well what the young girl was doing. And her heart would swell because they cared about her and liked her so much that they were doing all of this for her and she swore that she would always be by their side no matter what.

   One day, on a cold Sunday, when the three Wormwoods were out Matilda took the piece of paper from Lissy Doll's dress and dialed the number. Ms. Honey answered on the second ring. "Hello?" she asked and without warning, tears welled up in Matilda's eyes and a large gasp left her. 

   "Ms. Honey," was all she could utter before the tears made their way down her cheeks. Matilda could not help it; the happiness she felt from hearing her real mother's voice, the frustration of being stuck in a grade that did nothing to meet up to her level, the homesickness, and the anger she felt toward her family all fused to become tears. It took 30 minutes for Ms. Honey to calm her down. Afterwards, they started talking about life at school and at home, people, new books, and how the missed each other terribly.

   "If only I had remembered the adoption papers," Matilda muttered, taking a sip from her glass of water.

   "I'm looking into that. I know a lawyer who might help me gain custody of you," Ms. Honey answered. Matilda felt her spirits lift. "I still don't want to believe that your parents would give you away so quickly. It's so inhuman."

   "My father and my brother don't care about me, my mother would want me to go, and I love you, Ms. Honey."

   An intake of breath on the other line. "I love you, too."

   The called every Sunday. Matilda was able to talk to Lavender and Bruce who filled her in about the new and improved Crunchem Hall. Both were furious and dejected when they heard that she had moved. Whenever Ms. Honey was busy with paperwork the three would sit and talk about different worlds where anything and everything as possible  
A world where you can fly or stop time. A world where junk food was healthy for you. Their imaginations stretched like an unbreakable rubber band. 

   One day, Matilda called Ms. Honey's house and instead of its owners answering a man did. Confused, Matilda identified herself and asked to see Ms. Honey. An hour later, her mother found her in her room which looked as if a tornado had hit it. The desk had been flipped upside down, clothes were strewn across the room, and the sheets from the bed had gotten stuck on top of the closet. Matilda sat on her bed, curled up and staring blankly at the wall. Everything had been a blur, but there were splashes of pain and screaming and grief when the man said,"Jennifer Honey died two days ago in a car accident."

   Matilda's mother-possible the only person who loved her-was gone.

   

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Matilda is my daughter so you can understand the struggle I had when writing about her life and her deadbeat parents. The movie was filmed in California and Guam is in the western Pacific; plane tickets for Guam ranges in the 1,000 to 2,000. Mr. Dickwood wouldn't pay that much money and he's a criminal which means the airport might notify the police if they see his passport. SO he moves to the family to Grand Rapids; it's in Michigan (MY STATE) which is also where Lake Lilac is.  
> AlSO SINCE ITS MY STORY, THE TIMEFRAME IS 2017! Matilda was 6 years old when she and her family left iiiiiinnnn 2013! Now she is 10 years old! My daughter :'''''')  
> P E A C E


	3. A Change In Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were too many memories here. Four years was a long time after all. And maybe she might have fun at Camp Campbell.

   It was Kali's idea. Kali Patel was always a clever girl. Her parents would tell stories about her finding hidden bananas since toddler Kali loved them. She was always with her mother and her friends and listened to their gossiping. The women would talk about topics from the new neighbors to the condition the country is in. For some reason, words like "neglect" and "foster homes" stuck to Kali's mind and after learning what they meant the words stuck like glue.

   Whenever one of her friends asked about her home life, Matilda answered truthfully. She refused to lie, thinking about her father and his "job". From what she gathered, Kali managed to see the picture-that the Wormwoods were horrid people and their daughter was suffering because of them. So, when she saw her friend was literally dragging herself around with slumped shoulders and a dull look in her eyes she knew it was because of her parents. So she invited Matilda over to her house and, after sitting her and her parents down at the dining table, told them that she thinks Matilda should leave her parents and go to a foster home. 

   Of course, her parents were skeptical. They didn't completely trust the two girls, they were only seven! Still, Mr. Patel called the Wormwoods residence and after a long talk with Harry that ended with the said man yelling and hanging up, he began to suspect. believed his daughter. After talking to Matilda, Mr. Patel called the police.

   Two days after this, a police car pulled up in the Wormwood's driveway. Sharp knocks bring Zinnia to the door and she blinked in surprise. She was told that the two officers wanted to ask her husband a few questions regarding his business. Believing that her husband would take care of this, she led them inside and went off into the kitchen to get refreshments. Both officers looked around and took note of the boxes in the corner of the living room.

   When Harry came home he expected to see his beautiful wife and his son along with dinner. He did not expect to see two cops on _his_ couch, one of them chatting with _his_ wife and drinking _his_ coffee. "What's all this?" he demanded. The two officers-one middle-aged man, one young woman-turned to him and the woman stood up.

   "Mr. Wormwood, I'm Officer Lynch," she said. "This is my partner, Officer Wippler. We've received a call from one Mr. Daveet Patel that you've been abusing your daughter and that you've been conducting illegal actions. If you could just come with us for some questioni-"

   Harry cut her off in an annoyed tone. "So, let me get this? Some random guy called you and started making ludicrous claims that I've been hitting me kid and doing illegal stuff." As he spoke he took off his coat and made his way over to the kitchen where he began to pour his own mug of coffee. After a long sip, he continued,"Either you've been lied to or you got the wrong man, officer."

   "If you could just come with us for some questioning we can get this all sorted out."

   Harry snorted and an annoyed expression appeared on Officer Wippler's face. "Look, I think I have a right to say no."

   Officer Lynch looked at him with disbelief while her partner stood. "Sir, if you have nothing to hide and are innocent then you wouldn't mind us asking your children."

   They wouldn't find anything wrong. A father had the right to rule his house no matter what. He also had the right to discipline his children so that they don't end up like the hoodlums he sees in the streets. So, Harry called his children to the living room.

   "Alright," he began impatiently once Michael arrived (the boy had taken his time dragging himself from his computer game.) "These officers are going to ask you two some questions. I want you to answer them truthfully or no deserts." 

  The threat made Michael stand up from his slouch. He and Matilda went over to the couch and sat beside Officer Wippler who gave them a reassuring smile. He had salt and pepper hair that was thinning slightly and warm blue eyes He turned his whole body to them and surveyed them with sharp eyes. "So, how are you guys today?"

   "Good," both Wormwood siblings answered simultaneously.

   "School okay this Friday? Got a lot of homework for the weekend?"

   A "yeah" came from Michael while Matilda nodded. "Wait until you guys get to high school. Then you'll miss these types of homework."

   It was Officer Lynch who took that reins. She was quite intimidating with brown hair, dark eyes, and a no-nonsense air around her. "What does your father do for a living?" she asked.

   "He sells cars," Michael answered. Matilda remained silent; she had been as quiet as a mouse ever since Ms. Honey's death which resulted in her startling her family whenever she entered a room. Michael had teased her about being a mouse and would have continued if it wasn't for the book that almost gave him a concussion.

   Michael knew about his sister's powers and, fearing that she might hurt him if he told their parents, kept his mouth shut. He didn't ask for her to do his homework because she'll just demand it. Michael didn't even ask her to get him anything, all he did was tease her lightly. He had some friends who saw how he treated his sister and had heard far too many lectures from them. And after looking back at the years, Michael toned it down but was still wary of her. Mainly it was because his mother had told him in hushed tones at breakfast that Matilda's favorite teacher had passed away in a car accident and that she should be left alone. So Michael complied.

   Surprisingly, it was Harry who talked to Matilda. She had been sitting in her room one night, clutching Lissy Doll and reading  _The Outsiders_ when her father had barged in and sat at the foot of her bed. He snatched up the book, closed it with a snap. "Look, Matilda," he began in his usual brusque manner. "That teacher of yours passed away. No one knows who was in that car. But that's beside the point. The real point is is that I lost my father at the age of 13. I used to look up to him; he taught me that ya gotta do some things to get ahead in life. And I took those words to the heart! I moved on and remembered my father as-as a man who faced all odds and who has a son who's getting ahead in life. Now, what did that teacher tell you what to do?"

   For a moment, Matilda was flustered. Then, a sunny day with just her and Ms. Honey about the issues at school and she remembered something. "Be yourself," she finally muttered. "That's what she said."

   "Then quit moping around and get to it!"

   And that was the first time Matilda took her father's advice to heart. But it didn't stop her from grieving.

 

* * *

   Years later, a ten-year-old Matilda stared at the pamphlet. It bore the image a ball of yarn and a pair of needles and above it was the words ', Camp Campbell.' According to the pamphlet, it was a summer camp but more specifically a knitting camp.

   She had always loved knitting. After discovering some magazines in her old house young Matilda gathered random bits of plastic from her mother's old box and created Wanda who became one of her comforts. Lissy Doll, who now sat on the dresser beside her bed in her third new house.

   After Harry Wormwood had gotten arrested by the police his wife had made what was the toughest decision in her life: she gave up her children to Samaritas Foster Care. Matilda remembered her mother holding back tears as she signed the papers and she remembered being hugged with such ferocity that Matilda almost started crying as well. Finally, after pulling away from Michael's hug Zinnia said to her two children,"I wasn't born to raise kids. What I'm doing is the best for you guys. Just know that I still love you!" And with two kisses on Michael and Matilda's cheeks, Zinnia Wormwood walked quickly to her car, sobbing all the way.

   Michael had been furious. His father, his role model, and been taken away. His mother had been forced to give them up because of the cops. He was stuck at some orphanage which was wrong! He wasn't an orphan! His parents were still alive! Michael's scowl never left his face until dinner when both he and Matilda made their way upstairs. Only then did he calm down and, after a moment of hesitation, asked if he could spend the night in his sister's room. Matilda was taken aback but agreed and later found out that they both needed a shoulder to cry on. After that, their relationship was decent, if not more civil. Sure, they weren't as close as they were before but they watched out for one another.

   Now, Matilda was bored. School was over meaning that there was no work to keep her up, hanging out with her friends didn't seem as fun as it used to beMichaelel was busy with wrestling, boxing, and hockey, and she was certain that she had read all of her books. The local library had suffered a small fire recently and no one knows when it will be reopened.

   So, going to a summer camp sounded decent.

   There were too many memories here. Four years was a long time after all. And maybe she might have fun at Camp Campbell.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I was a terrible person last chapter. I just had an idea of Trunchbull coming back to town and thinking that Ms. Honey was behind the "Get out of town, Agatha" and has revenge on her mind. 'Cause only Ms. H knew about all those things and Trunchbull always thought children as stupid and not as clever as she. She also killed Magnus and I can just see her killing Ms. H. :'''''''''''''')  
> I wrote this in a different perspective cause I wanted to include Michael's pov since we don't see enough of him in both stories and movie. I also wanted to give him more character and always saw him as siding with his father. Harry influences Michael as much as he influences Matilda; probably gives him advice about stuff and plays games like boxing and shares interest in shows and TV. So, in a way, you can see Michae getting ma. at the police being taken away.  
> Zinnia is NOT the type to support two kid on her own. She chose looks over books, remember? And she wants to be famous and live the high life, so giving the kids up, although it is hard, is probably the right thing.  
> And so it begins for young Matilda as she meets the residenst of Camp Campbell


	4. First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Is that...Preston."

   The driver put her on edge.

   He was tall and looked to be in his late 60s or mid-70s. it wasn't because of his grey hair and the bushy mustache that twitched whenever he talked or his lumberjack attire. No, it was the dark red stain on his jeans that Matilda hoped was some sort of sauce, that one eye that remained closed, and the hook that replaced the man's right hand. He screamed danger and superstition. Matilda suddenly wished to be with Michael who, with his tall stature, made her feel safe. Instead, she had her backpack with Lissy Doll, Wanda, the iPhone 3G her friend Stewart gave her in case of emergencies, and some books in case she got bored.

   Matilda sat down and pulled out  _Cuckoo Song_ by Frances Hardinge but did not open it. Instead, she stared out at the scenery zooming by, buildings and streets giving away to a highway. Matilda bit her lip and looked around, hoping that there was someone else on the bus to reassure her that the driver will cause no harm. There was movement out of the corner of her eye-something red-but when she walked to the back of the bus there was nothing. Humming in thought, Matilda returned to her seat, opened her book, and walked along with Triss to the doctors.

   She had just been back at the Cresent's residence when the bus stopped so suddenly that it sent her flying into the seat in front of her. Rubbing her sore nose, Matilda saw that someone was boarding the bus and felt the small tension in her stomach loosen; at least she won't be alone with this suspicious man. 

   The person who had climbed on was a tall, pale boy with curly chestnut-brown hair and light blue eyes. He wore a yellow sleeveless turtleneck despite it being summer and dark red pants with a pair of white shoes.  He looked to be around Matilda's age and had his hands drawn close to his chest reminding Matilda of a pale praying mantis.

   "Hi," Matilda greeted, waving and was slightly surprised when the boy jumped slightly. ' _Maybe he's an introvert. Or just nervous.'_ "Are you heading to Camp Campbell, too?" One of her goals was to make new friends at camp and here was an opportunity. 

   The boy nodded and made his way over to Matilda's seat. "Uh, yeah. I signed up for Science Camp."

   "I signed up for Knitting Camp."

   "Oh, cool."

   Silence filled the air between them and the boy still looked uncomfortable. "Do you want to sit here?" Matilda asked, moving her bag to her lap. "I'm Matilda, by the way." He looked surprised but sat down beside her. "Uh, Neil. I'm Neil."

   "Nice to meet you," Matilda said, smiling. "So, what kind of science are you into?"

   Neil shrugged, a small smile on his lips. "Eh, any kind actually. I'm really hoping they have a lab and computers. See, I have this idea..."

   And so he went on about codes, experimenting with chemicals, learning more about inertia and the human body. Matilda was impressed; she did know some kids who were obsessed with science but not one of them could reach Neil's level which was broad. Almost all of them were fixated on a specific type of science such as biology and chemistry. 

   Suddenly, Neil became flustered. "Heh, sorry," he apologized. "Uh, why did you sign up for Knitting Camp?"

   Wondering what could have made him so flustered, Matilda said,"I made this doll when I was younger out of pure boredom and decided to make more. Then I watched  _Coraline_ and liked the idea of knitting and sewing. And here we are. It's not as exciting as your reason. Your dad really sneaked you into one of his lectures?"

   Neil chuckled. "Yeah, I think I was six. And one ti-" Matilda would never know what happened because someone screamed. They both jumped and looked around wildly for the source.

   "We're almost here!" someone exclaimed. Matilda and Neil looked over the top of the seats to see a young girl standing on of them. She looked to be around their age and was about Matilda's height. Her turquoise hair was messy and tied back in pigtails. She wore a yellow shirt underneath a pair of bright red overall. Matilda shared confused looks with Neil; neither had seen the girl come onboard.

   "Um, excuse me," Matilda called out, causing the girl to turn her head towards them. Her eyes were an unusually bright pink and there were two white bandages on her left cheek and a scratch on her right. She looked like she had just gotten back from a fight. The girl blinked before chuckling. "Did I scare you guys back there?" she asked in a teasing tone, quirking an eyebrow.

   Ignoring Neil's small "yes," Matilda asked,"How did you get on the bus? We didn't see you."

   "I got on with the help from the shadows," the girl said, grinning. "You guys excited for camp?" When they both nodded, she went on. "I'm hoping for some really cool activities. You know, the ones that give you cool bruises. And maybe some with ferocious beasts like wolves. I've always wanted to be raised by wolves. Or foxes. Anyway-"

   Matilda had only let her eyes off the strange girl for a couple of seconds. That was enough time to see the man running towards the bus. "LOOK OUT!," she screamed, causing the other two to turn their attention to the front. But the driver didn't stop and Matilda watched in horror as the bus hit the man. Her blood ran cold. Both Neil and the girl ran to the front of the bus just as the doors opened, leaving Matilda sitting there in shock. After a moment, she grabbed her bag and exited the bus. What she saw made her jaw drop: the girl with turquoise hair had bitten the man who got run over on the hand. The man was screaming in pain and waving his arms wildly around, trying to dislodge the attacker on his hand.

   "Uh, excuse me?" Neil asked nervously. "Is this Science Camp?" ' _Someone got hit by a bus and you're worried about that?!'_ Matilda stared at him in disbelief as the turquoise-haired girl released her hold on the man's hand and said,"No silly! This is adventure camp! Ad-vent-ure. My mom said so! Unless she was lying. Again." She turned to the man she had bitten-a tall, lanky red-head with green eyes and dressed like a green park ranger. A yellow bandana was tied around his neck. "Sorry about that hand, by the way. Just exerting dominance, you know how it goes."

   The man-looking unharmed, miraculously-pointed at Matilda and Neil as the walked up to them. "Uh, and you two must be Neil and Matilda. Well, you three will be happy know that Camp Campbell is both of th-" As he spoke, the school bus backed up so quick that Matilda didn't even see it. Gasping, she ran over to the fallen man. "Are you okay? How many fingers am I holding?" she asked. But to her utmost astonishment, he got up as if a balloon had hit him and with not so much as a scratch on him. "Three fingers," he answered before thanking the Quartermaster for bringing the kid who was behind the assault. He had tanned skin, black curly hair, and brilliant green eyes. He wore a light blue over a yellow shirt and jeans. The older man frowned down at him and bent down. "Max," he began in a scolding tone. "You are not leaving my side for the rest of the day."

   Max gave him a withering glare. "We'll see about that, Camp Man," he shot back, spitting out the nickname with venom. Neil walked up to him. "So, what's your deal?" he asked. Matilda turned her attention to the girl who had bitten 'Camp Man' and asked,"So...why did you bite that man?" she asked, weary. "And what's your name?"

   "I'm Nikki and I was exerting dominance! Helps you from becoming the omega," was her answer. Matilda would have made a comment on how that was unhygienic and Nikki did have a point when David said that they were going to check out the camp.

   All five of them walked past the tents where the campers slept in and stopped at a large wooden building where the flagpole with the camp's logo waved along with the flag it was printed on. Behind it was the Mess Hall where meetings, meals, and camp activities would be held. The Mess Hall was connected to the Quartermaster Store and Matilda thought back to the frightening old man with a hook for a right hand and hoped he would not try to terrorize the other campers. "Tell 'em just how much you love it, Max!" David said arms stretched out to said boy.

   There was a beat of silence where she, Neil, and Nikki looked at Max who looked down at his hands. "See, that's the sad thing. He still actually thinks that I love it." 

   Matilda expected him to be scolded again but David brushed it off as he walked over to the doors of the Mess Hall. "Now, let's step inside and meet my co-counselor, Gwen, who's in the middle of a camp activity right now!" he said in a cheerful tone. "Oh man, you're gonna love her."

   The first thing that Matilda heard was a loud "Motherfucker!" The second thing she heard was someone screaming in joy, something about the G's. Then, the first thing she saw was a boy strapped to the fan which was being spun at a fast pace by another boy. Other kids were running wild except for one tall girl who was listening to music. All in all, it looked like a mess. A mess that could cause serious harm to people. 

   "Nurf, you don't crank shit!" shouted a brown-haired woman who was holding a box of forks under her arm. "Get down from there, Space Kid!" As David ran over to help Matilda could only exclaim,"How did he even get up there?!"

   "What is going on here?" Neil asked, alarmed. 

   "I'm telling you, if we leave now, I can hot-wire that bus," Max said. Suddenly, Nikki had grabbed onto him which caused Max to drag Neil along which caused him to grab onto Matilda for support. With a cry of "This is amazing!" the four kids practically zoomed around the room. It was like a circus with kids. Matilda saw a boy with brown-haired in a rather 1500s attire dodging the forks being thrown, a girl wearing a blue cape shuffle a deck of cards, a black-haired boy making paper airplanes of various sizes one of which landed itself in Matilda's hair, and a boy in a formal yellow and black outfit was doing card tricks. A large boy in too small shirt-Nurf-was currently in control of the fan and was smirking maliciously. _'Looks like someone who enjoys violence.'_

   Eventually, Neil let go of Matilda who fell down in front of the tall, blonde girl with the headphones. She looked down at her and smirked. "Sup, newbie." 

   Matilda stood and plucked the paper airplane from her hair. "Hi," she greeted. "Is it always like this?" A nod answered her. ' _Okay, that's it. I am_ not _spending my summer here. Maybe Max can hot-wire the bus and Neil can come with. This place doesn't look like it has the right stuff for us.'_ A loud thud drew her attention to the boy from the fan who was wearing what looked like a spacesuit complete with a yellow cape and a glass helmet. Someone must have stopped the fan, causing gravity to drag him down. As he reassured the occupants that he was fine Matilda scanned the room for Max and Neil. Spotting them staring at both David and Gwen was talking animatedly to the boy who was making paper airplanes, she hurried over and to Max said in a low voice,"I'll take your offer of hot-wiring the bus."

   Max gave her a look that clearly said "Finally-someone-who-gets-me." Then David said something about an orientation and pinned bright red pins onto her, Nikki, and Neil the latter who said "ow" because of the pricks the pins left. And then David began to pull out a guitar from who knows where and was this camp someplace where physics didn't exist because there is no way that David can simply stuff a guitar in his back pocket. And he can't just put it back like that so naturally?! Maybe she was hallucinating or something. Did someone have drugs here?

   The other campers were told to head over to the activities field for their "afternoon sessions." Everyone except Max left and Neil asked with slight exasperation," Will someone please talk to me about Science Camp? None of those kids looked to science-y." 

   "What about that astronaut kid?" Nikki asked. "He probably knows a lot about astrology" Matilda piped up.

    Neil gave the two girls a look. "Astronauts, the wannabe jocks of the science community? Please." ' _Well, now that you think about it-Oh, my lord. That is the biggest disk I've ever seen in my life. That can't be_ real! _It's probably a fake; maybe this whole thing is a sham.'_ Matilda's eyes widened even further when a man in pajamas climbed down from what looked like the attic. He caught sight of the other in the room and climbed back up, a look of panic on his face. After a moment, that man came down again this time dressed in something Indiana Jones would wear. He approached David who sighed and said wistfully," Oh, if only he were here."

   "I'm here now," Cameron Campbell said in a deep voice. David looked like a child who had heard the ice-cream truck. "Mr. Campbell?! Wh-what are you doing here, sir?" he asked, eyes bright.

   Campbell chuckled. "Well, I'm certainly not hiding from any authorities if that's what you're thinking."

   ' _He's hiding from_ authorities?! _Ok, don't panic. Just get as far away from this man as possible.'_ Matilda had almost gotten to the doors when the sound of a car caught her attention. Two men who looked like agents stepped out and began talking into their earpieces. Cameron hurried over, drew the curtains, and pushed her and Max along for the tour. ' _This man is a criminal, oh, God!'_

   Outside, the other campers were doing their activities at various places; none of them looked up to date and looked like they were constructed hastily. "Here at Camp Campbell, we pride ourselves on the variety of our curriculum," David said coming to a stop in front of all the "camp."

   Gwen began to talk in a monotone voice. "There's Extreme Sports Camp." The tall, blonde girl went down the skateboard ramp and went through the other side with a loud  _crash_! "Magic Camp!" The boy in the fancy attire stood on a stage with various magic tools and produced a dove with a puff of smoke. Unfortunately, Nurf didn't like that and threw a tomato at him, snickering. "Space Camp." The boy from the fan sat in a cardboard box with the words 'Challenger Gear 3' on the side. He was facing up but fell down on his back due to gravity. "Theatre Camp." The boy in the 1500 clothes was also assaulted by tomatoes from Nurf. He stood on a stage with a dresser behind it and holding a skull in his hand, reminding Matilda of Shakespeare. "Art Camp." The boy who was making paper airplanes pointed at his painting of a Geran Shepard and a flower. "It's a dog!" he exclaimed in a German accent. "Other Magic Camp." The kid with the blue cape attacked the boy in the fancy attire with wooden swords. "Lightning bolt!" she yelled as she three dice at her victim's head. "And lots more. Lots of stuff," Gwen finished.

   Matilda stared at everything in disbelief until something caught her eye. An awning had been built into a wall that leaned against a large boulder. Under it was a small wooden desk drawer with a large basket on top of it. Also under the awning was a small and slightly rickety rocking chair. She could only assume that this was Knitting Camp. Walking over to it, she opened the basket and found a doll that looked very much like Max. Said boy rushed over, took the doll and placed it between Nikki and Neil, and took off no doubt towards the bus. "He's not going to make it," Matilda muttered and sure enough David returned carrying a disgruntled Max. 

   "Excuse me," Neil asked, sounding furious. "What the hell is this?" He pointed at Science Camp which was really a table with wooden beakers and tubes on it along with one magnifying glass. Matilda cringed and pulled out her own pamphlet. Turning to Gwen who had walked over she asked,"Miss, can my guardians can still get a refund if I tell them about this place, right?"

   "None of the other kid's guardians have called in for a refund, so, I don't know honestly," Gwen answered. 

   "This is BULLSHIT!," Neil suddenly screamed, drawing everyone's attention. "I don't know what kind of operation you're running, but I won't stand for it!" he yelled, pointing at Campbell. "I'm a man of science! You think you can rummage together some outdated equipment and call it a laboratory?!"

   "I'm calling my guardians and getting the police to come here. This is a terrible camp!" Matilda piped in, reaching into her backpack for her phone.

   "Look, kids, I know it's not-" Gwen began but was cut off by Campbell who began to a speech about the greatness of Camp Campbell and how the youth weren't interested in a 'traditional' camp. He would have continued if it weren't for the agents from earlier pulling up and shooting at him. Matilda let out a shriek and dove underneath the desk, wincing as the bullets flew through the air. The sounds were ear-splitting and she watched, aghast, as Campbell climbed up a ladder from a helicopter and disappeared.

   She crawled out from under the desk and saw Gwen on the ground, shaking. Trebling from the near-death-experience, Matilda ran over to where Max, Nikki, and Neil where. "Neil, that bus is our only chance out of here," Max was saying, shaking the other boy. "Do you want to spend the rest of your summer at this Godforsaken place or do you want to enjoy the sweet taste of freedom?!" 

   Neil paused, glancing around, and said," Let's get the fuck out of here."

   "Take me with you. I have a phone so that we can call the police," Matilda said, glancing at both Max and Neil.

   "Makin' a break for it?" Nikki asked. "I can make a distraction for you."

   Max gave her a weary look. "Why would you help us?"

   "I'm an agent of chaos" was his answer. "Good enough for me," Matilda muttered. After getting David to sing the camp song he had been wanting to sing, the four kids followed Max to Knitting Camp where he pulled out three dummies and dressed them as their human counterparts. After placing them outside, they broke into a run for the bus.

   They ran past the Quartermaster who was unfazed by four run-away campers and quickly saw the bus. "There it is!" Max shouted, grinning. The grin vanished when Neil shouted,"They're right behind us!"

   Sure enough, David and Gwen were catching up. "Max, get back here! You are being a bad influence on our new campers!" David shouted. 

   "Never!," Max shouted.

   Seeing David about to grab the hood of Max's hoodie, Matilda quickly looked for a rock to throw. Spotting one several feet ahead, she concentrated on it and with a flick of her head, sent it sailing for David's head. The impact from the rock and Nikki's pin which had been thrown caused both counselors to fall upon each other. Matilda let out a laugh as she and the others hopped onto the bus. She plopped down on the driver's seat and closed the doors. Then, she turned the keys and pulled it out of parking.

   Max suddenly plopped down. "Move over, I know how to drive this thing," he said. "Nikki, push that pedal!" With a sudden lurch, the bus began rolling down the path to the city.

   

* * *

 

   "Ok, maybe we should have taken the other route."

   "I told you guys!"

   "Well, Neil was screaming!"

   "Because of your reckless driving!"

   "We were so close. I could taste the freedom...it tastes like blood."   

   "We were so close."

   "Well, in hindsight none of us really know how to drive."

   "But you do know your pedals and we had a map so if it weren't for the music we would've been fine. And my phone would have been fine."

   "Yeah, honestly Max, how far did you expect to make it."    

   "Imma be real, I just always wanted to drive a bus."

   "Well kids, I hope we all learned something today."

   "Oh no, I hope YOU learned something today, David. I hope you learned that before today, you only had one little bastard to deal with. But now you've got four. Let's go guys. I'll take you to our tent."

   "Woohoo! This is gonna be awesome!"

   "This is still bullshit."

   " 'By the pricking of my thumbs/ Something wicked this way comes.' "

   "Is that...Preston?"

   

     
   

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! What a chapter that starts us off. I hope yall had a wonderful Christmas and New Years.  
> Matilda is going to be in some of the trio's adventures but she will interact with other. She seems like the type to read plays by writers like Shakespear and Dickens and Poe; she's an avid reader! So Preston will find someone who relates  
> Matilda handling a map while giving directions is a headcanon of mine.  
> Matilda being the mom friend is another headcanon. But she's that mom that's not restricting and totally ignores the rules.  
> By the pricking of my thumb is a line from the play Macbeth  
> I hope you guys liked this! Bye~


	5. Someone Who Knows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'If I ever have kids, I'll love them no matter what. And I'll treat them fairly if I have more than one. They will never doubt that they are not important.'

   Four days after the first day of Camp Campbell, Gwen called Matilda over, saying that one Mr. Gabriel Martinez was calling her.

   Said girl stood up from the bench where she was reading and quickly made her way over to the counselor. She had a feeling that someone from Samitras would call and was not surprised to hear it was from Mr. Martinez. He and Ms. Leah Ryan had been assigned to Michael and Matilda; they basically looked after them and made sure that they had everything they needed. Both of them had been requested by Zinnia Wormwood who had said she wanted her children to be successful despite everything. Mr. Martinez and Ms. Ryan were wonderful, but were very strict and wanted the two to be on their best behavior; it seemed that Michael always had trouble with that and sometimes Matilda. All in all, she could not ask for anyone else.

   Matilda took the phone from Gwen and walked to her tent she and Nikki shared. "Hello?" she asked.

   "Ms. Worwood, Ms. Wormwood," a light, Southern-accented voice that was slightly scratchy asked. "Ha! How are ya?"

   "Not good," she answered but smiled nonetheless. 

   "I'm just checkin' in on ya. Ya haven't called like you said you would. And what seems to be the problem" 

   Matilda looked around at her tent and, after a quick expectation outside to ensure that no one was around, began to speak. "The problem is this camp. One of the staff members is setting off alarms in my head, the plumbing is terrible, the food is...something else, and they don't even have the proper equipment for the camps. They all are really dangerous. And that man who runs it is hiding from the authorities. On the first day, there were these men who came to the camp and started shooting at him!" Matilda shuddered as she remembered the piercing sounds of the guns. "I know that sounds far-fetched, but I'm telling the truth, Mr. Matinez! Cameron Campbell is a crook! He makes sure that none of the families can sue the camp because of how inadequate it is!"

   There was silence on the other line. "Are ya telling me a story, Ms. Wormwood?" Mr. Martinez finally asked in a stern tone.

   "No, sir. I'm telling the truth."

   "If the camp is that bad why didn't ya call us earlier."

   "Someone accidentally broke it somehow." Matilda had a strong feeling that he and Ms. Ryan would not be happy to hear that she had helped drive a bus. "I've tried calling Michael, but he won't pick up."

   "That's 'cause the boy's grounded for dumping some lattes on people's heads. He said they were being jerks to a couple of his friends but still the lattes were warm ones. But back to the matter at hand. One of the staff members and either me or Ms. Ryan will come over to the camp. If it's as bad as ya say it is, we'll contact the authorities and try and find Mr. Campbell."

   "And if you do believe me, can we try and shut the camp down?"

   "That's a lot to ask, Ms. Wormwood."

   "The campers here would support me. My friends, Max and Neil, really hate it here and would rather be at home. And what if one of us gets seriously injured. Also, I don't think the counselors are getting paid that much."

   "We're just gonna' have to wait and see. While I make some plan, talk to your brother."

   "Sir, yes sir." Matilda did a small salute to no one as she heard a scuffling noise on the other line. Once the noise faded, a familiar voice asked,"Hello?"

   "Hi, Michael."

   "Hi, Matilda! How are you?"

   "Not good. This camp is a sham and inadequate! The man who runs it doesn't even care about the well-being of the campers and the counselors!"

   "Oh, man. That does sound bad. Sorry I couldn't call."

   "Yea, about that...how was that latte?"

   "It wasn't that how! Just...warm."

   "Right. Hey, do you think that I can shut this camp down?"

   "Yes. Yes, I do. But, you need evidence."

   "Oh, trust me. I do. Anything interesting happening?"

   "Eh, nothing much. I'm grounded so I can't do much but homework. Hey, what do you know about the Odyssey?"

   "You have resources, use it." She heard her name being called in the distance. "I gotta give the phone back to one of the counselors. Bye, Michael!

   "Bye and don't kill anyone!"

   She had just hanged up when Gwen's head poked through the flaps of the tent. "You done?" She nodded and handed the phone to the older woman. "That was a really long conversation."

   "Yeah, well, I was talking to my brother." Matilda followed Gwen out of the tent. "And Mr. Martinez wanted to just check up on me. I was going to call him, but my phone broke after the first day because of the bus."

   " 'Kay. I'll let you know if someone from your foster care calls." And with that, Matilda was left alone. She headed over to the picnic table where her book was and saw it about to be stabbed by a ginning Nurf. With a yell, she ran over to rescue it.

    

 

* * *

 

   The next day, after dressing in a dark blue jumper dress with a yellow shirt underneath-provided by the camp-black legging shorts, and neat running shoes and tying her red hair ribbon into a bow on top of her hair, made her way to the Mess Hall with Nikki. There, everyone was acting sluggish and disgruntled from being woken up early. The only person who was fully awake and ready to start the day was David who was busy brewing a cup of coffee for a disgruntled Gwen.

   Matilda grabbed her tray of eggs and bacon and sat between Nikki and Nerris who was playing with a pair of dice. "Hey, Nerris," Matilda asked, curious. "Why do you always have dice with you?"

   The bespectacled girl barely spared her a glance. "Tho that I can be prepared if I'm attacked."

   "Attacked by what?"

   "A Rutht Monther or a Deoxyth-I don't know." Now she fully looked at the other girl. "Why?"

   "I was just curious. Anything else you carry around?" Matilda had heard of Dungeons and Dragons but was not as into it as Nerris was here. 

   "Jutht thome extra dice, charmth, a book of thpells. Do you even play Dungeons and Dragons?" Nerris asked.

   "Well, no. I tried too, but it all seems really complicating with all the rules."

   "That'th probably because you've never been exposed to LARPing, but then again not all of uth have," the dark-skinned girl said with a hint of smugness in her tone. Nerris quickly sent a glare over to Harrison who was showing Ered a magic trick. "But there are thome people who rather be fake," she added. Matilda chuckled before finishing her food.

   During the camp activity-pottery-she saw Harrison almost receive a handful of clay thrown by Nurf. Almost being the keyword since the boy was able to hold up his hand and stop it before ducking underneath the table he was working on. Matilda's eyes widened; she had never seen anyone her age be able to stop an object in impossible ways. She hadn't even noticed that Harrison had powers because she had been so busy hanging out with Max, Nikki, and Neil. Thinking fast, Matilda grabbed a ball of clay and joined Harrison under the table where he himself had various balls of clay. "Harrison, she began, holding out her own ball. "Check this out." She felt the familiar hot feeling building up in her eyes and with ease felt the tiny hands lift the ball of clay up to eye level. The hands spun it around before tearing it into two and rolling them back into balls. They both fell into Matilda's hand.

   Looking up, she saw Harrison's wide eyes watching her with shining eyes and an awed expression. "You-You can do magic too?!," he exclaimed, grinning with delight. "That's amazing! I've never seen nyone who could do that. Do your parents know? Can you summon things? How long have you've been able to do that? Oh, man this is amazing!"

   "Slow down!" Matilda said, laughing lightly. "Let's talk about this later when we're not being attacked by clay."

   "FUCK YOU, NIKKI!," Preston suddenly yelled and a scream could be heard.

   Harrison's eyes were still shining and Matilda could see him shaking slightly. "Yeah, sure! Holy crap, I can't believe this! Haha! Finally, someone who has powers!" His grin disappeared when the table was overturned. They both looked up to see Nurf and Ered, each of them holding large balls of clay and wearing malicious smiles on their faces. Matilda felt her face pale.

   "Um...BOMBARDA!," Harrison shouted and threw a smoke bomb in front of Ered and Nurf. As they coughed, he grabbed Matilda's elbow and ran for saftey.

* * *

   "So, because of your parents neglecting you and insulitng you along with your old insane and abusive principal, you were able to discover your powers," Harrison finally said after Matilda had told him her story. The two were eating lunch in the Mess Hall with the others. They had all received a two-minute lecture from David about how dangerous clay was and "that they had ruined beautiful potter and could have hurt one of their fellow campers."  

   Only Dolph and Space Kid were upset about the bowls that had been shattered during the Clay War as Nikki called it.

   Matilda nodded as she swallowed her grilled cheese sandwich. "Ever since I've been practicing my powers. Now they're twice as strong as they were before."

   "And are you sure you can't do anything else. Like, make things reappear or break the ground?"

   "No, but I wish I could. What you do is amazing, Harrison! Were you born with it?"

   "Yes! I would always make things happen whenever I was a baby like levitating things and freezing stuff." Suddenly, he looked downcast. "My parents used to like my ticks, but then..." He trailed off and because interested in his apple juice.

   "Did they stop liking them?" Matilda asked gently. Her answer was a nod. Knowing that asking him why would only make things worse, she began talking about the  _Bombarda_ "spell" he had used earlier; the boy looked all too happy to talk about it.

   Later, as she lay in bed listening to the chirps of the crickets, her mind wandered to Harrison and his parents. How he had said they were scared of him and his abilities. How they had sent him to camp in hopes that his powers could be controlled. Only Michael and Kali know about them and all three of them had agreed on never, ever telling anyone. They didn't know what could happen to Matilda but didn't want to risk it. So, she became artful when using her powers. Learned to calculate before making a move. It was almost like chess,

   Harrison had parents, but they were afraid of him simply because of him having magical abilities. Matilda felt fury rise up in her. They were his parents, they should help him not fear him! It was unjust! Harrison had said he had done something that had upset his parents greatly, but things can be forgiven. No one should be told that their parents are scared of them because of something they can't control. As her eyelids began to grow heavy, she could only think one thing:

   ' _If I ever have kids, I would love them no matter what. And I'll treat them fairly if I have more than one. They will never doubt that they are not important.'_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took me awhile.......HAPPY MLK WEEK!  
> -Blue symbolizes intelligence, confidence, trust, wisdom, loyalty, faith, truth, and heaven. That's why Matilda's dress is blue.  
> -Matilda hates people who are shams like her father. "Crooks" Her shutting the cap down will help people since everything at camp is harming everyone  
> -Bombarda is a spell from Harry Potter. Harrison told Nikki during Mine Freakers that she had to be sorted into a house. And of course, Matilda would read Harry Potter!  
> -Yeah, Matilda doesn't know about Harrison and his brother. Harri is obviously guilty about it and doesn't want to share it. He probably fears that Matilda would hate him.  
> -Matilda not understanding D&D is this thing I came up in my head. Some D&D fan would say to me "Yeah the game has a lot of rules but Harry Potter has a lot of stuff going on and yet you understand it!" ANd I just shrug  
> -Kali is from A Change in Vacation; that girl is clever as f u c k ya'll. AT least, in my story ;)  
> -Matilda tells Harri about her powers bc she's found someone like her!!! ANd SHES!!!! AND HARRIS !!! HIS REACTIONS!!!!
> 
> Welp, see ya and Happy Martin LUther KIng Jr Day!!!!!


	6. I've Seen Weirder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I CAN'T BREATHE, OH, MY GOD!"

   "Hey, Matilda. You're good at math, right?"

   "Give me a problem."

   "What's 96,000 times 23 minus 1?"

   "2,207,999."

   "...Holy shit, that was fast."

   "Thank you. Is there anything else?"

   "I need you to help me build something. Here, look at this."

   "A catapult? Why is it all so complicated?"

   "So that people will be paying attention to where the ball is going. And because I saw a video of something like this and liked the sound. So, you in?"

   "Uh, sure. But, whoever did this was wrong. I think they forgot to carry a three. Also, why are you building this?"

   "Eh, for fun."

* * *

 

   Matilda watched in horror as the boulder from Max's catapult and the hamster went sailing over to the dark island in the middle of the lake. "Aw, man," she heard Max mutter to David. "That was supposed to kill you." She turned to glare at him.

   A few minutes later, all of the campers were by the docks where David announced that they were looking for a brand-new mascot.

   "Woah, woah, woah," Max said. "Why you gotta put that shit on us? We don't work here." Matilda threw the boy an incredulous look. He was the one who started this and, in her opinion, should look for a new mascot.

    David leaned in. "Well, Max, we were going to make homemade ice-cream, but someone killed our mascot and now we need a new one  _because every good camp has a mascot, Max!”_ David's voice grew more and more agitated and louder until he finished his sentence, breathing hard. A wide smile was bestowed on a frowning Max and David straightened himself. Matilda eyed him with concern and made a mental note to talk to Max about him and their counselor. ' _He must be stressed out. Maybe tea will help.'_ "Also, Gwen's feeling...under the weather and this is one of the few activities I can do without her!" And the Space Kid was trying to eat rocks which caused David to rush over.

   "Under the weather?" Neil asked, confused. Nikki stepped forward. "Lady sickness," she answered knowingly. "My mom used to get that all the time."

   "You can also call it a menstruation cycle," Matilda piped in, scrunching her face up in distaste. She would have to have hers soon and she was not looking forward too it. Hopefully, the cramps won't be as painful as Quora says. 

   "How do you cure it?" asked Neil.

   Nikki's face darkened suddenly. "Edge closer to death," she spoke in a rather sinister tone. "Or surgery!" Matilda said optimistically. ' _Even though not having a uterus does sound wrong. Maybe someone can make a pill or some vitamin.'_  "Woo!," Nikki suddenly exclaimed. "Mascot hunt! I'm going for one with a lot of teeth!"

   "It should be cool," Ered added, having heard what the shorter girl had said.

   "Yeah! Like a unicorn!," Nerris said.

   "It should be fierce! Und pure!" Dolph exclaimed, hopping up and down.

   "And something that can defend themselves," Matilda also added, thinking about Max's catapult. ' _Maybe a bird or a spider. A snake would be cool!'_

 _"_ How about something that protects? Ever thought of that, idiots!," Nurf half-asked, half-yelled at the campers around him. He was ignored.

   "Or something that can easily be spotted so we don't lose it," Harrison said. 

   Suddenly, Max announced something that grabbed everyone's attention. Something that Matilda was sure he would never say. "Why don't you have the Quartermaster take half of us," the curly-haired boy asked. Matilda glanced over and gaped at the sight of the older man dragging a sack; the bottom was covered in red and was leaving streaks of it on the ground. It looked like blood and it looked fresh. ' _David, do not agree. Do. Not. Agree.'_ "I bet he would have a unique outlook on the forest!" Max continued, smiling pleasantly as if seeing a bloodied sack was normal. 

   Matilda sent David a panicked look and felt her stomach drop when the red-head said,"Why, Max, what a wonderful idea! He's such a beloved member of our family. I would love for you all to get to know him even better!"

   "David!," Matilda exclaimed in disbelief. "He's carrying a bloody sack!" Said man blinked and glanced over at the Quartermaster before chuckling. "Oh, that's probably just some roadkill he found. There are a lot of them on the road to the hiking grounds." Suddenly, his smile dropped. "It's always the little ones." He gazed through Matilda, shoulder slumping.

   "You need lemon tea," the young brunette advised him. That snapped the older man out of his current mood. David straightened and sent a smile to everyone, eyes wet. "Sorry everyone, just...really overwhelmed by all this friendship and young animals right now." After a sigh, he continued speaking. "Alright, who else would like to embark on a friendship walk? Who, knows, maybe some of our esteemed Quartermaster's wisdom will rub off on you!" he said.

   ' _If someone goes, I'll go with. Quartermaster might hurt them or worse.'_ Both she and Max were the only ones who raised their hands. Everyone else stepped back. Matilda felt anxious as David and the camper left, leaving her with Max and the Quartermaster. ' _Why do I do this?'_

 _"_ Thought you were suspicious of this guy?," Max asked her in a low voice as they followed the Quartermaster into the woods.

   "He might hurt someone or you," Matilda answered back. She then noticed that her hand was twisting the end of her dress, forming creases in the fabric. She stopped immediately and tried to ignore the shaking of her knees. "You never know."

   Max was silent and when she looked at him, he was studying her with narrowed eyes. Matilda knew that look. It's that look some adults give her when she says something people her age shouldn't even think, much less say it. Those adults would try and understand her, try and see how her brain worked, what got her to do this or that and wouldn't be satisfied until they're figured out how she ticked. Noisy adults, curious adults, concerned adults, weird adults. They usually fit into that category. It annoyed her sometimes-usually because the adult would be noisy. "What are you even gonna' fight him off with?" Max finally asked.

   "You."

   "...Wait, the fuck do you mean?" His only answer was a chuckle.

   The trio continued to walk until the trees became thicker, the chatter of wood-land creatures became more and more ominous. There were no birds twittering, only an owl hooting, no squirrels, only a loud  _skirt-skirt_ noise, and glowing eyes peaked at them. Matilda's hands twisted one of the ends of her dress, wondering where the Sun had gone. Even Max was started to get anxious as he glanced around with wide, worried eyes as the Quartermaster led them further and further into the dark woods. "Look, man, we can just go back to that camp and relax," Max told the old man. "Gwen can be the mascot."

   Suddenly, bumped into Max causing them both to fall over. Matilda looked up and was struck by how long the Quartermaster was. Yes, she knew that he was David's height, but on the ground, looking up at him made her remember.

   The old man turned toward the fallen children, neck popping in the process, and grumbled out,"You kids think you're so SMART!" The last word was shouted.

   ' _Oh, God, if he starts telling us about 'back in his day' or 'how us kids need to respect their elders because we've been through worse' I will scream.'_ "What?" Max asked confused. "Uh, how does that relate to-"

   "You need to see beyond the camp," the Quartermaster interrupted. "Into the true beauty of nature!"

   "And to do that you brought us to a dark place where the trees have blood on them," Matilda said as she pointed at said bloodied tree. 

   "Yeah, this looks like the place where teenagers go to get stabbed," Max added. The fact that the Quartermaster agreed with him didn't help. He walked on, forcing the others to follow him. As they walked, Matilda spotted a small, but sharp stick nearby and quickly picked it up. "What are you doing?" asked Max.

   "I'm making a weapon," Matilda explained as she snapped off the end of the stick so that it was sharp. "Just in case we need it."

   "He has a hook for a hand, how the hell is a stick going to help you?"

   "I have my ways. If I hit him in the leg, he'll be distracted and that will give me the chance to jabbing him in the stomach. At least, I think."

   "Yeah, while you're playing huntress I'm gonna be running."

   "Thanks for the help, Max."

   "No prob, Max."

   They walked for a while in silence. "Where are we even going?" Matilda asked the Quartermaster. ' _Did he even know where we're going?'_

   "You'll see soon, child," the old man answered her in a low mutter. "You'll see soon."

   That did not reassure Matilda one bit and she stared at the stick in her hand, wondering if she could actually fight a man with a hook for a hand. It didn't hurt to be prepared. If he did try to attack them, that is. If not, then she could chalk it all up to paranoia. 

   "Hey, so, how'd you lose that hand anyway?" Max asked suddenly. Perhaps he was trying to find a way to break the eerie atmosphere. His attempt was futile since the Quartermaster only let out a string of grumbles about "the Jews" which didn't exactly answer Max's question. The said boy stared wide-eyed at him and said weakly,"I feel like you should be more specific." Then, their guide stopped before a hedge wall. There, the Quartermaster switched his candle holder to his usual hook and turned to face Max and Matilda. 

   Matilda immediately raised her stick in defense. She was right, he was going to hurt them. ' _I won't let that happen. Never again._ ' Max, however, was not sharing the same train of thought. With a sigh, he held out his arms and said,"Well, I guess Nikki was right. Enjoy wearing our skins!"

   Matilda, on the other hand, felt heat slowly build up behind her eyes and she knew that she would hurl the stick into the old man's gut. She began to raise her stick but stopped when she saw the Quartermaster swing his hook toward the hedge wall. As his hook sliced the wall open, rays of sunlight fell through, blinding Matilda momentarily. ' _So that's where the Sun went,'_ she couldn't help but think wryly.

   As she blinked the sunlight from her eyes, she saw what looked like the total opposite of the forest they had walked through. The sun touched everything there, leaving behind no shadows and warming Matilda's face. Birds and squirrels chirped and chittered and the sky was a wonderful baby blue. Unlike the dark, grim forest's trees that clumped together, these trees were spaced out, revealing bushes with branches heavy with berries of any kind. In the middle of all this was a wooden throne where a small, grey squirrel sat on. The Sun made everything glow slightly and woodland creatures such as bunnies and squirrels were frolicking about and was that a rainbow?

   Matilda's breath caught in her throat as she gazed around. After spending who-knows-how log in a dark forest anything that involved sunshine and animals lifted her spirit and made her drop the stick. She felt a wave a calmness and awe sweep over her as she took a step into the lighted forest. "Wow," she breathed.

   "It's...beautiful," Max said, looking around with shining eyes and a look of wonder on his face. Meanwhile, the Quartermaster walked up to the throne where the squirrel sat. ' _Maybe I was being paranoid.'_ Matilda smiled at the Quartermaster's back, expecting him to turn around with the squirrel in hand. The smile slid off her face when she saw it impaled by a certain hooked hand, now bloodied along with the small, limp body. "Mascot," the old man said.

   "WHAT THE HELL?!" Matilda shrieked, backing away in horror. She felt her stomach turn over at the sight of the small corpse and looked around wildly for her stick

   "DUDE, YOU FUCKING KILLED IT!," Max yelled, rearing back in horror and disgust. The Quartermaster simply glanced at the corpse hanging from his hook, plucked the crown from its head and placed it on his. Almost immediately, the other animals attacked him causing him to yell that he was their king now.

   Matilda's eyes found the stick and quickly made it rise into the air before hurling it toward the Quartermaster's stomach. The force knocked him off his feet and caused him to yell out in pain. His animals fell upon him, scratching and biting and pecking. Matilda and Max ran for it.

   

* * *

 

   "Why? Just why?"

   "It has been my destiny to gain the throne. Ever since King Grey the ll raided my fridge. That night I swore vengeance against him. Built up trust and turned a mascot for this here camp. Now, I will paint the kingdom in my own image. "

   Max gazed incredulously at the old man perched on the wooden throne and turned toward Matilda. "He's kidding, right?"

   "I WILL BE DISRESPECTED!," the old man shouted, pointing his hook (the squirrel was still hanging from it) to the sky. "BUT, RULERS MUST DO WHAT THEY MUST!" He leaned toward the two children's faces and Matilda felt queasy as his putrid breath hit them in the face. "Now you both know the true beauty of nature," he whispered. "You see the ugliness of the forest, you swipe through and bam-gold lies there. But then red paints the emerald green." Matilda let out a breath of relief when he straightened up and jumped when he again shouted,"BRING THE THRONE!" 

   Flabbergasted, the young girl looked at Max who was watching this all with a blank look on his face. "So, he's king of the forest now," he finally said, jamming his hands into his hoodie's pockets. Matilda only nodded and thought, ' _I've seen weirder stuff than this.'_

 _"_ Let's head back," she said, turning around. Behind her, the sound of footsteps followed her. If someone were to see an old man with a dead squirrel hanging from his hook on a wooden throne carried on the backs of squirrels and seen two children with him, they would have to take a picture for Ransom Riggs. 

   After a while, Max walked up to Matilda and said,"So, you can do magic tricks? Like with the stick back there?" She felt her heart skip a beat; in the panic and disgust on seeing "King Grey the ll's" body, Matilda had done nothing to conceal the fact that she was controlling the stick.

   "Uh, yeah. Harrison showed me a few tricks," she lied quickly, inwardly cursing herself for being so careless.

   "You didn't even touch it."

   "I used my foot."

   "How did you do that and get a perfect aim?"

   "Magic."

   Max glared at the girl who giggled at his annoyed look. They continued to walk in silence and Matilda saw the trees beginning to spread apart and saw light filtering in through the leaves. ' _We must be close to the camp.'_ And no sooner had that thought entered her mind when she saw the familiar view of the pier where the others were. One of the squirrels plucked a horn from God knows where and blew on it, creating a fanfare and announcing the arrival of their "king." The others except Gwen-who was holding what looked like a beaver by the tail-gaped at the sight and Matilda couldn't help but find it humorous. When Gwen dropped the animal, Matilda could see that it was a platypus. 

   "Oh, wow!" she exclaimed, bending down slightly to get a better look. "Did you know that when a platypus hunt underwater, it shuts off all the normal senses and finds prey by electrical signals and mechanical waves? And that it walks on its knuckles on land because of its web feet?"

   "Did you know that you're a nerd?" Max asked sweetly, earning a "har-har" from the young girl.

   "Alright," David began. "Well, seeing as I accidentally stepped on the caterpillar and a tin can would be ridiculous, I guess the platypus is our new mascot!"

   "Muak," went the new mascot. Matilda couldn't help but '"awwww" at this. "Isn't that cute?," she asked Dolph who had approached the platypus. 

   "Look! Ind zhe vater!," Dolph exclaimed instead of answering, pointing at the lake. All eyes turned toward a familiar brown furry creature who was busy swimming to the shore, panting all the while. 

   "Well, how 'bout that?," David said. "Larry's back! Alright, original mascot!" When the platypus snatched up Larry in its beak, he sounded exasperated. "Fine, whatever, it's the platypus."

   "Does this mean we'll be the Camp Campbell Platties?!," Nikki asked.

   "No, I don't think so."

   "What about the pussies," Neil suggested. Matilda choked on her own saliva and began to laugh widely. The laugh increased when the others started to chant pussies and when Dolph volunteered to make the flag.

   "I CAN'T BREATHE, OH, MY GOD!"

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

 

    

   

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah. here's the chapter.
> 
> I looked up the platypus facts and they're all true. Also, Matilda freaking out is because she wants to be prepared and NOT get hurt. I made up the roadkill thing and lemon tea is one tea that helps you calm down.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'I should ask them about what they're hiding, but I'm tired. I'll ask later.'

   She was so deep in sleep that she was told later that it took four shoves of the shoulder to wake her up. And the shover was a certain turquoise-haired girl who whispered,"Matilda? Hey, Matilda!"

   Sleep still had it's arms around her so that her speech came out garbled: "Whazza? Wha?"

   "Me 'n Neil 'n Max are leaving the camp. Wanna come to the lake with us?"

   That got her attention. Matilda sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "You're leaving? How?"

   Despite it being late Nikki was full of energy and was grinning eagerly. "I don't know but Max said he found a secret weapon. Sounds cool, right?"

   "I guess...I'm going back to sleep."

   "Wait!" Nikki grabbed the other girl's shoulders and sat her up again, Matilda grumbling all the while. "Why don't you want to come? Don't you hate this place?"

   "Nikki, its the middle of the night and the last time I tried to escape with you guys, we nearly died. Its-" She was interrupted by her own yawn. "Its weird that Max didn't tell you about this weapon, isn't it? And I have my own plans for this camp. So, no, I'm not coming."

   Nikki's shoulders slumped and her hands left Matilda's shoulders. "Aw, it would have been fun." Then, her face held a puzzled look. "Wait, are you gonna' stop me?"

   Matilda gave her a flat look before flopping back into the covers. "I've talked to David and Gwen. All of Max's escape plans have failed, according to them. So, don't get severely hurt, don't get your hopes up, and goodnight."

   " 'Night Matilda!" She heard the zipper of their tent being pulled down and up along with footsteps that receded into the night. Matilda snuggled deeper into the blankets and let sleep claim her once again.

 

* * *

 

 

   Once again, Matilda was woken up by the cheerful voice of David. "Goooood morning, campers!" Sighing, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. When they opened again she saw David's confused face glance towards Nikki's empty cot. She felt a tightness for in her stomach at the sight of that.

   "Matilda, where's Nikki?" asked David.

   She swallowed and said,"She, Max, and Neil went on another escape plan in the middle of the night."

   "Again?" a now exasperated David asked.

   Matilda climbed out of bed and nodded. "Yeah. Nikki told me about it last night, but I didn't think it was going to work since you said that all of Max's plans failed. But..." She trailed off, glancing at Nikki's bed. ' _Did they succeed_ _?'_  

   David let out a huff. "Well, we better go look for them. Matilda, get changed and head to the Mess Hall. I'll talk to you later about this." With that, he left.

   Matilda gathered her toiletries and clothes before heading to the showers. Unlike almost everything at the camp, both the boys and girls showers were spotless and the water was clean. She figured David put extra care into the showers. As she walked towards them, the tightness in her stomach remained. ' _Either they got out or they got hurt. Maybe got stick somewhere. Spooky Island? No, Max wouldn't be that foolish. Did they hotwire something? Did they get help? Well, hopefully, they're not hurt.'_

   After showering and brushing her teeth, she headed over to the Mess Hall where some of the campers were trying to eat their breakfast. Matilda grabbed her tray and watched as the Quartermaster dumped a stack of pancakes on her tray, then sat next to Space Kid who was busy fiddling with his toy space rocket.

   " 'Morning, Matilda," he greeted.

   " 'Morning," she greeted back, taking a bite out of her pancakes. "You should eat that before it gets cold," she added, pointing at the boy's bacon.

   Space Kid looked at it and nodded, placing down his toy and removing his helmet. Without it making his entire face look blue, you can see that he had brown hair and brown eyes. As he ate, Matilda noticed that his face was rather chubby.

   The loud sound of a tray being slammed down against the wooden table made her jump. Matilda looked over and was greeted with a smiling Preston. "Good morning!" he greeted loudly, as usual.

   " 'Morning, Preston," Matilda said, smiling as well. After finding out the Preston had a vast knowledge of various plays and musicals, both old and new, she and the taller boy had become friends since her first day here. Matilda herself found a love in old plays written by people like Macbeth and Ibsen. Musicals, on the other hand, have found a special place in her heart, right next to books. She may not have listened to all of them, but the ones that she has were wonderful. The fact that there was someone else who shared her love of the theatre made her ecstatic.

   Preston picked up his fork and stabbed his bacon harshly. "So! I wrote down a little bit for my new play."

   "The one about the robot Romeo?"

   "Yes. Do you think I should add Rosaline or not? I mean, she was Romeo's first crush."

   "I don't think so. I feel like when Romeo does come back from life, his first thought should be of Juliet. Which is kinda dumb if you remember that he has parents who are really depressed that their son died."

   "Can't argue with that. So, no Rosaline. But, Capulet will be there along with some others. I'll tell you about that later." Preston chewed for a while before swallowing and continuing: "It's hard not to put any Be More Chill references in it since the SQUIP is kinda' a robot."

   "I guess s-" Matilda was cut off by David bounding into the Hall and announcing the camp activities they will be doing for today. Today was limbo and miming and smores around the campfire. As the rest of the campers filed out of the Hall, Matilda heard David call her over. She bit her lip and headed over to where David and Gwen were.

   "Now, Matilda," David began with a serious look on his face. "I am disappointed in you didn't tell me or Gwen about where Max, Nikki, and Neil were going."

   ' _How was I suppose to know that their plan would work?!'_

"But, I am glad that you told me this morning. Now, did Nikki say anything about where they were going?"

   ' _Uh, she said they were going to leave the camp and asked me to join. Wait, she asked me to go to-'_ "The lake. Nikki said they were heading and that Max had this secret weapon."

   Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Secret weapon?"

   "Nikki didn't say what it was because Max didn't say anything about it."

   Gwen was about to speak again but was interrupted by David who said, with a face that of someone about to go on an important quest,"Well, it looks like we have some Campbell's to find. Gwen, would you mind watching the camp?"

   "Can't you do it? I have a feeling the kids'll stab someone with the limbo stick."

   "Well, the last time you went into the woods to get Max and Chucky you punched the wall and started bleeding."

   "...Eh, point taken. You owe me a solid, though."

   David smiled and headed toward the door. "Great! I'll be sure to find those three by the end of the day! Don't have too much fun without me!" And with that, he closed the door firmly behind him. A few seconds later, the phone rang from somewhere in the back. Gwen disappeared for a while before calling Matilda over. "Phone for you!"

   Matilda walked to the back of the room and reached up to take the phone from Gwen. "Hello?" she said into the receiver.

   "Ms. Worwood, Ms. Wormwood," said the familiar voice of Mr. Martinez. "How are ya?"

   "I'm doing well, Mr. Martinez," she replied, smiling. "How about you?"

   "To tell the truth, not good, not good." Mr. Martinez sighed before continuing. "Ya know how I said a while back that a couple of us would come down to that camp and to see if what ya said was true?"

   "Yes. Did something happen?"

   "Heck yeah, something did happen! I knew that car had its tires pumped well, I did it a couple of days ago. But as we were about 2 miles-I think-from the camp-bam! One of the tires busted open. Almost landed us in a dutch!"

   "Are you okay?"

   "A little shaken up, but otherwise fine. But Mrs. Sparks sprained her ankle and ma cars in the shop. I also got a lot of paperwork to catch up on so it'll take a while for one of us to get to the camp. The place is gettin' busy! Sorry."

   "Its fine, Mr. Martinez. Tell Mrs. Sparks that I hope she gets better. So, when will you be able to come to the camp?"

   "In about a week o' so. But, don't you fret your head, Ms. Wormwood. Just try and enjoy the camp as much as you can. Who knows, maybe it ain't that bad!"

   Before Matilda could tell him that the camp was bad and that there were very few things she liked about it, Mr. Martinez bade her farewell and hanged up. Handing the phone back to Gwen, she had a feeling that he wanted her to change her mind. ' _Nah.'_

   Outside, Ered and Preston were having what looked like a limbo contest; the stick had been placed at least less than a foot off the ground and the other campers had taken sides. Nurf appeared to be making bets with Dolph and Space Kid. As she drew nearer, she heard Nurf say,"Ok, I got four cool-looking rocks on Preston. Dolp, you have seven on Ered and Space Kid has his toy rocket with rubies on it for her too. I'm putting in one of my knives if Preston just lies flat on the ground and scoots."

   "I'll put three hats for Preston, too," Matilda said, startling the other boys. "And two long scarves."

   "How long?," asked Space Kid.

   "Hmmm, 12 feet."

   Nurf and Space Kid murmured in approval and Dolph let out a small "Oh" at that. Soon, the competition began and Matilda and Nurf cheered for Preston who wiggled under the pool like a worm. Ered, on the other hand, would have been able to get on the other side if it weren't for her hair getting caught in a pile of rocks. Nerris and Harrison were screaming at her to untangle her hair to which Ered shouted,"The fuck do you think I'm doing?!" Meanwhile, Preston had successfully gotten everything except his head under the stick. He began wiggling like a worm on a hook, shouting out what sounded like lines to Matilda.

   Finally, Preston stood up on the other side of the stick, panting and covered in dirt. His side cheered and ran over to him, thumping the tall boy on the back. Ered's side groaned in disappointment and Harrison shouted,"Rematch!"

   "HELL NO!" shouted Preston. "Look at me! I'm covered in FILTH, I'm pretty sure I'm BLEEDING, and it's hot today!"

   "Not really," said Space Kid.

   "Yeah, it's not that bad, surprisingly," Matilda added. 

   "Shut-up," hissed Preston, wheeling on them. Rolling her eyes, Matilda and Space Kid walked over to where Nurf and Dolph were, the later looking smug as the other boy dropped some small multicolored rocks into his hands. Some of them were a mixture of green and blue while others were another mixture of red, orange, and grey. One rock was a dark shade of purple.

   "Where did you find those?" Matilda asked Nurf, eyeing the rocks in awe. 

   "In the river by one of the hiking trails," he answered. Suddenly, a knife had appeared and was being jabbed into the directions of Matilda, Dolph, and Space Kid. "BUT IF YOU TRY AND STEAL THEM I'LL STAB YOU ALL IN THE EYE!" he bellowed.

   "V-Vat makes you z-zink ve vould schteal from you?" Dolph stuttered out. 

   Nurf calmly put the knife away and took no notice in the relieve looks upon the others faces. "You never know," he said before walking away.

   "I thought he had only one knife," Matilda said, shaken by what had just happened.

   "Looks like you vere vrong," muttered Dolph before sitting down and spreading his rocks before him. Matilda sat down beside him and plucked up a stone to hold up to the light. It looked beautiful in that position. "I've never seen a rock this beautiful," she said, handing it back to Dolph.

   "speaking of rocks," began space kid. "Apollo astronauts have collected 840 pounds of material from the moon!

   "Really? Wow! Being on the moon does sound scary, though," said Matilda. "It's all just space and you can drift away easily."

   Space Kid nodded sagely. "Yeah, my great uncle said it was crazy up there. But he did say the view was amazing."

   Matilda shared a puzzled look with Dolph at that. "Er," Dolph began hesitantly. "Do you mean your uncle vas on ze moon?"

   Space Kid beamed at him. "Yep! And it's great uncle."

   ' _Is he joking?'_ "Space Kid," said Matilda. "Whose your great uncle."

   The boy smiled at the other two and puffed out his chest, a proud look on his face. "Buzz Aldrin!"

   Space Kid would have been questioned further if it weren't for Gwen calling the other campers to head over to the next activity-miming. During this activity, they played a game called Mirrors. In pairs, you have to mimic the actions of the person in front of you; the person who made a mistake loses. Matilda was paired up with Nerris who did a series of strange poses that was hard to copy. After that, they played several rounds of Charades. The game became so intense that Nurf, in frustration, had grabbed the nearest thing-which turned out to be one of Ered's shoes that she had taken out due to a pebble being in it-and hurled it towards Preston; he later revealed that he was Jack Sparrow. "I DON'T GET PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS!" Gwen shouted as she pried Nurf and Preston apart.

   After lunch-which consisted of spaghetti and veggie meatballs-the campers headed over to what looked like a miniature football field, complete with the two goals on the sides. It was a cliche game of boys versus girls; Space Kid refused to play, saying that his helmet might crack. Matilda, even though she rarely played sports, found it to be a fair and fun game. Even when the boys won she was still kicking the football. ' _I guess this means I won't be nervous when I play volleyball,'_ she thought as she watched the boys' victory dance. 

   It was towards the end of the day when all of the activities had been completed when David came back with Max, Neil, and Nikki. As they drew nearer, Matilda noticed several things about them: Neil's cheeks looked more flush than normal and a pink badge pinned to his yellow turtleneck, Max had a black eye and several scratches on his hoodie, and a large eagle was perched on Nikki's head. 

   "What happened to you three?" asked Matilda as they approached the camp. "And where were you guys?"

   Max merely crossed his arms while Neil opened his mouth to answer; he was cut off by Nikki who launched into a story: "Okay, so, me 'n Neil 'n Max went to the lake where this guy name Billy was waiting for us. Billy's a Woodscout and a Woodscout is basically someone whose into military stuff; they have a camp here. Anyway, we get on this boat and suddenly-bam! Billy betrays us! He stabbed Max in the back and pushed me 'n Neil overboard 'cause apparently no girls are allowed in Woodscouts. Neil feinted because life so I swam us to shore. But, as I looked around I saw that we were in Hell!"

   David cut in. "Nikki, it's very rude to call a camp the scary depths of the Underworld. Camp Flowerscouts is a lovely place!"

   "You speak lies, old man," replied Nikki and she turned away from David's offended face. "I had to disguise Neil as a girl because of its a no-boys rule. But then we saw the true bitches from Hell! ("Nikki! Language!"). There were these girls who were dumb enough to believe that Neil was a girl and thought her fake name was  French or something. Matilda, it was so boring! They didn't even like my self-made nose ring!"

   It was Neil's turn to cut in. "Nikki, you pushed a needle through your nose!"

   "You still have berry juice on." As Neil began to rub his cheeks Matilda gestured for her turquoise-haired friend to continue. "I went for a walk around the camp and was looking for the best escape routes when suddenly I heard a screech. There was this eagle in a tree and I thought why not have a winged friend since I have a bunch of four-legged friends. I climbed the tree and Timothy and I had this really deep conversation, and then we went to the hall. The true bitches from Hell were there and they made fun of me for having fun. But Neil stood up for me and called them cunts ("Neil!") and is keeping their wifi or something. So, I told Timothy to get us away and we flew to this forest where David found us. We went to the Woodscouts camp where they were 'torturing' Max even though the ropes course looked fun! David lectured us though." Nikki then took a deep breath and pointed at the eagle-Timothy-on top of her head. "This is Timothy, by the way."

   Matilda looked at Timothy in awe while Max scowled at Nikki. "The ropes course was not fun. Hell, Woodscouts isn't even close to the word fun! They're fucking insane!"

   "Max." David's tone was disapproving. "The Woodscouts may be harsher than other camps, but it does not mean that they are insane. They just have a different type of atmosphere and rules."

   "They also gave him a black eye," Matilda added, pointing at Max's injured eye. "Why did Billy stab you?"

   "Its because Woodscouts is running low on campers so they kidnap other campers. And they're insane!" Max said; the last bit was directed to David who quickly escorted the younger boy to the camp's small infirmary.

   "I take it you don't like the Flowerscouts that much," said Matilda to Nikki.

   Nikki huffed and crossed her arms. "It was so boring over there and I hated those three!"

   "I can't blame you, you being a-"Neil was cut off by Nikki elbowing him hard in the stomach. The action jostled Timothy, who let out a small squawk. 

   "Wait, what?" asked Matilda, looking at her friends. 

   "Nothing, nothing!" Neil said loudly, edging away from Nikki while said girl exclaimed,"Matilda, I had to shove you like, four times, just to get you to wake up!"

   ' _I should ask them what they're hiding, but I'm tired. I'll ask later.'_  

   

 

  

   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how gambling works so please bear with me  
> -Yeah, I added Chucky  
> -Mr. Martinez's struggle to get to Camp will be important later on in the story  
> -I have the same stress when it comes to sports. I always feel like I' gonna fuck something up.  
> See ya' next chapter, scouts ;O  
> -In Romeo and Juliet, Rosaline had a crush on Romeo.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ered stared at her before obtaining a thoughtful look on her face for a moment. Then she said,"Yes and no. Yes because we had a sick party and no because we still had to clean the camp. And that was lame."

   Matilda sighed as she watched Preston gingerly clean the window. "Preston, stop being so dramatic."

   "But it's filthy!"

   "And?"

   "My hands are the steps to my body which is a temple!"

   "And?"

   "I could get sick!"

   "And?"

   "I don't deserve this!"

   "You called Ered a bitch yesterday because she called you outfit lame."

   "I AM A GOOD PERSON!"

   "Look at all the fucks I give."

   Normally, she wouldn't swear that often but today she had wanted to try knitting hats and read a chapter of _Challenger Deep_ , not cleaning the entire Mess Hall. With another sigh, Matilda began to wipe the windows.

   ' _Boring, boring, boring. So boring.'_

   Beside her, Preston huffed. "Why exactly are we doing this again? Isn't the Quartermaster suppose to do these kinds of things?" he asked before jumping as said man's voice yelled at them to continue working; Matilda felt annoyance build up in her. ' _We are working, you old man!'_

   "If I was in charge," she muttered to Preston. "This camp wouldn't be run-down as hell."

   "Aren't you all sick of this lowly work?!" a familiar voice said suddenly. Everyone's head turned to look at Max, who had abandoned his job at scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush; he looked defiant. "Its time we take control of our lives and fight back! Who's with me?!"

   Matilda stared at him for a second before throwing her spray bottle and rag onto the floor. "VIVA LA REVOLUCION!" she shouted which caused the other campers to cheer.

   "Now hold on!" the Quartermaster called and silence followed as everyone stared at the old man. He was holding a broom and was raising it. "Y'all better get back to work or I'll do unimaginable things to you with this."

   Some of the campers eyed the broom warily and backed away. But Matilda had been able to overthrow a tyrant once; taking down the Quartermaster would be quick and easy. She plucked the fallen spray bottle from the ground and hid it behind her back as she made her slow way over to the Quartermaster, plastering on a wide smile. "You're right, Quartermaster. We should be grateful that the jobs you've given us aren't that tedious! And for that we-GIVE YOU THIS!" Matilda tugged on the end of the Quartermaster's jacket so that his face was closer and sprayed into his face. Fortunately, his eyes were open which caused him to fall flat on his back, crying out in pain.

   "GET HIM!" Nerris shouted and soon the campers descended upon him, kicking and punching. If it weren't for Nurf who slammed the old man's head against a table, Matilda was sure the Quartermaster would have overpowered them. ' _That still must've hurt, though.'_

   Max stood beside her and watched as the others tied the Quartermaster to a chair. "That was quick," he said as he watched Harrison walk around their victim. Matilda nodded, thinking back to her and the other boy's argument about how she had told David and Gwen about their last escape plan which led Max to Camp Woodscouts, and Neil and Nikki to Camp Flowerscouts. Max had been angry at her, saying that she should have lied and that he was in more trouble because of her. Matilda had retorted that his plan was insensate which resulted in more shouting. Neither had acknowledged their fight a few days ago, but Matilda sensed that Max didn't resent her that much. Maybe a smidge, but not full-blown.

   Meanwhile, the camper had tied up the Quartermaster and were taunting him. But after a while, the taunts faded and they stood there, glancing at one another in silence until Space Kid asked,"What now?" This caused all of them to turn their gaze to Max, who stared back at them uncomfortably.

   After almost a minute of silence in which Matilda was able to snag a cookie from the kitchen, Max snapped at the others. "Why the fuck are you all staring at me?"

   "You started this," said Matilda as she munched on her cookie.

   Neil nodded. "Yeah, so we need another order from you. I mean, that's what happens in a lot of these situations."

   Max blinked before allowing a smirk to work its way onto his face. "Well, fellow campers," he began sweetly, folding his arms behind his back. "I'm sure we all are tired after a long day of work. But I'm also sure that we aren't too tired to not take over this God-forsaken camp, right? If you are THAN YOU"RE WEAK! If not, then lets. Get. Crazy!"

   Cheers erupted and Dolph hopped into the air in excitement; Matilda clapped at Max's small speech. Soon, the entire Hall was in chaos. Nikki had managed to grab a basket of apples and was busy hurling it in anyone's directions, giving her poor victims bruises. Ered had pulled out her phone and was blasting what sounded like dubstep. Nerris had pulled out her sword and was swinging it around wildly, occasionally hitting some airborne fruit. Meanwhile, Space Kid and Preston had retreated into the kitchen, raiding the fridge, playing with the equipment, and tossing anything edible outside of the kitchen window which resulted in Harrison levitating some of them. Nurf had managed to obtain the Quartermaster's hook and ran around with it whilst swinging it around wildly, creating gouges in the walls. Max and Dolph were the only ones not causing much destruction, the latter marching around and the former surveying the scene with a look of satisfaction. As for Neil and Matilda, both were doing everything in their power as to not get injured.

   "Gah!" Neil cried out as food pelted his face. Matilda handed him the paper towels and took refuge underneath the table, occasionally making food fly across the room and hit unexpecting people. Despite the danger of being slashed with a hook or pelted with fruit, the entire scene was hilarious and she couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Nikki drop-kicking an apple into Nerris's face. The sound of the door opening grabbed her attention and she looked toward the noise.

   David and Gwen had returned and both surveyed the scene with disbelief and horror. This drew out a loud laugh from Matilda who poked her head from under the table. "We go ourselves an uprising!" Quartermaster called out, causing everyone to turn towards the dumbfounded adults.

 

* * *

 

      "Don't you think tying David upside down will result in him having some sort of brain damage?" Matilda asked Max as Nurf pressed David upside down to the flagpole. Gwen had already been tied to it.

   Max scoffed and grabbed the rope from her. "I don't care."

   "You will care when he gets brain damage."

   "How do you know that."

   "Blood is going to be rushing down to his head, what do you think, Max?"

   In the end, David was tied upside down. The campers surveyed their handiwork with pride and Matilda was slightly impress; tying someone upside down to a pole looked difficult.

   "Max! I am very disappointed in you for this behavior," David said, looking irritated. In the same chiding tone, he added,"But I'm also torn because you were clearly paying attention during knot-tying class!"

   Matilda's shoulder rose slightly in shock when Max suddenly struck David across the face. "Shut up!" the boy snapped. "We're in charge now, Davey.  The camp is ours!" The others cheered, showing their captors that they were behind Max on that.

   "This is just like "Le Mis"!" Preston exclaimed. "Ah, I love it!"

   "All we need is someone fluent in French and some 1780 clothing," Matilda said, grinning.

   Max sent them both a look. "Don't make this lame, guy."

   Matilda sent him an annoyed look. "Well, in that case, I have to say that I wished Enjolras led this revolution than you."

   "Max, let us down NOW!" David was demanding. "Cameron Campbell is coming to the camp tomorrow and we need to get ready!"

   ' _We had to clean the floor with our toothbrushes for him?!' "_ Oh, even better," Max said. "You'll definitely be fired once he sees the state the camp is in...or will be," he said sinisterly. "Come on, everyone!" The campers complied and as they walked away from the bounded counselors, Matilda saw Neil place an I-Pad in front of Gwen. Miraculously, the device didn't fall down as she had predicted. ' _Where did he even get that?'_

   They walked until they reached a stage surrounded by benches in front of the lake. Max climbed on top of the stage and turned to face the campers. "Alright, freeman!" he began. "Now that the revolution is complete, its time to choose our new leader. Obviously, I would be happy to take the-"

   "I vote Ered!" Nikki interrupted him. 

   "What?!" exclaimed Max in disbelief as said girl accepted this turn of events with a simple "Cool".

   "I vote Ered az vell!" Dolph said. "She is strongk, und passionate, und so kool!" The others voiced their agreements. All except Max.

   "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold the hell up!" He hopped down from his place on the stage. Did you nerds forget who revolutionized this place?! I should be leader! Not "extreme sports Barbie" over here!"

   "But Ered's charithma modifier is like, +10!" Nerris defended.

   "Thanks, Nerris," said Ered. "That's cool of you to say."

   "I WANNA' BE COOL TOO, ERED!" Nikki suddenly screamed, startling those around her. 

   "Sure thing, Nikki," said Ered. "Everyone can be cool at Kamp Kool Kidz and the campers shifted more towards her. "Ah, I love that name!" Preston exclaimed.

   "Please don't tell me that Kamp Kool Kidz has K's in the name," Matilda said to Ered.

   "Uh, duh. Makes it look more cooler." Matilda did nothing to stop the facepalm that followed after that. "That's-That's not proper spelling or grammar," she said, rubbing her face.

   "You're gonna get taken advantage by the 1%!" Max was shouting, glaring at his new tall rival. "Rage-against-the-machine-fight-the-power-9/11!"

   ' _...What?'_

   "Progressive buzzvords can't zaffe you know!" said Dolph.

   "But Ered doesn't have the spreadsheets software to manage-" Neil was saying, only to be cut off by Nikki who said,"That's 'cuz spreadsheets aren't cool. Right, Ered?" She looked expectantly at said girl agreed with her. 

   "I vote Ered, too!" Space Kid said enthusiastically, only to be rebuffed by Max. Surprisingly, he didn't look upset at changing sides.

   "Is it even necessary for us to have a leader," Matilda muttered to herself. "We could just have a council or something."

   Nerris, who had overheard her, shrugged. "I mean, you're right. But I don't think Math has any bookth with him," she said, giving Matilda a knowing look.

   ' _Oh, my one true love. Okay, I suppose Max does deserve to be the leader because he's what started this whole thing. On the other hand, I can have my books and an unlimited supply of food and not the crappy ones. Still, I would be favoring an unfair side. Why is Nikki favoring Ered now, though? No, focus Matilda! Max or Ered! Max or Ered!'_

In the end, the thought of zero access to books was too much for Matilda, who shuddered at the thought. And so, she quickly made her way over to Ered's side. ' _Maybe I can read more that one chapter of_ Challenger Deep.'

* * *

   All Matilda could think of was a frat party. A very child-safe frat party, since there wasn't any alcohol involved.

   Thank God.

   "Hey!" She tapped Nurf on the shoulder, causing him to release Dolph's stretched underwear that had resulted from the wedgie he had received from the taller and larger boy.

   "What? I'm busy," said Nurf as he folded his arms.

   "Busy being what? A jerk?"

   Nurf snarled at her and grabbed a fistful of her shirt, lifting her easily from the ground as he raised a fist. "SAY THAT AGAIN, I DARE YOU!" he practically screamed. An empty soda bottle smacked him on the forehead, startling him and dropping Matilda. "Ow!"

   "THAT'S MY FRIEND YOU WERE ABOUT TO ASSAULT, YOU TROLLISH FUCK!" screamed Preston from his pile of junk food. "SO STEP OFF, TRICK ASS HOE!"

   Nurf glared at both Preston and Matilda before walking away. Dolph watched him leave and when he turned to Matilda, he was beaming despite the wedgie he had received. "Zank you," he said, standing up and clasping his hands. "Not ein lot of people schtand up to Nurf. Und zank you, Preston!" Dolph added earning a wave from said boy.

   "I just don't like bullies," said Matilda, thinking about a certain tyrant and how Michael used to act towards her back in California. 

   "Vell, I must do zomething for you in redurn," Dolph said.

   "Oh, you don't have too, Dolph. I'm good."

   "Put it iz like zat zaying here in zee UZA!" Dolph continued to follow her as Matilda returned to her table where her book lay. "Uh, zomething about your backz und rabbing?"

   "You scratch my back, I scratch yours."

   "Ja, zat is it!"

   "Well, you could leave me alone so that I can read...or at least find me some soundproof headphones."

   "Okay!"

   "Wait, Dolph, I was kidding-And he's gone."

   Matilda sighed in exasperation when Ered announced a dance party and let out a yelp when she was suddenly grabbed by the arm and swung around. Stumbling to her feet, she saw Nikki grinning at her, a pair of sunglasses perched on her head.

   "Come on, get wild, girl!" she said, shuffling to the beat of the song. Matilda stared at her; she rarely danced and felt more comfortable doing it alone in the privacy of her room. Her dance moves were, as she liked to call it, eccentric and that last time Matilda had tried dancing with someone she had received a fresh bruise on her cheek.

   Nikki, noticing how Matilda had stiffened slightly at her words, grabbed her hands again and began to spin her around, laughing. Matilda figured that this was to help her "get wild" and when she was released she began to bob slightly and move her arms. Then, her shoulders moved and now her feet were finding a rhythm and the music was making her giddy.

   Spinning had caused her to want to get wild and to dance as hard as she could. Right now, she was comfortable in her own skin.

   Grinning, she let out a whoop of delight and began to laugh as felt more and more energized. Soon, she was dancing with Nerris and Harrison who were sweating, but still grinning with joy. It was only when the soles of her feet began to ache and her breathing turned into a wheeze did she stop for a bottle of soda provided by Preston. Wiping her sweaty brow with her arm, Matilda watched as Nerris and Harrison began a dance-off with one another. It would have continued if it weren't for the explosion.

    _BOOM!_ Waving her hand to clear away the dust, she saw that a hole had been blown up in one of the walls. Scorch marks gave it an almost cartoonish look and as the dust and smoke cleared, Space Kid stood at the hole holding tow large pinecones. "I did this," he said. "Come after me!" And with that he ran off, leaving behind some very unhappy people.

   "Aw, man!" Ered groaned. "So uncool."

   "MURDER HIM!" shouted Nikki, seeing the dislike on the tall girl's face. Matilda's eyebrows shot up in disbelief when she saw everyone run through the hole and after Space Kid. She ran after the others to see that he had stopped a good distance from the Hall, grinning at his pursuers. 

   "Why do they want to kill Space Kid?!" David asked her as she stopped by the pole where he and Gwen were still tied to.

   "He blew a hole into the building," she explained, glancing at him curiously. "How long have you been tied up here?"

   "All day," said David. "But its okay! Harrison taught me a trick that stops the blood from flowing to my head. I think its related to Houdini."

   "That's still not natural," said Matilda and returned her gaze to the campers running towards Space Kid. There were about a foot from him when they were gone. Matilda blinked and looked wildly for them and would have concluded that they had disappeared into the woods if it weren't for Harrison shouting something. Looking at where the campers once stood, Matilda saw a large hole right on front of Space Kid where the campers had fallen in. ' _That's clever.'_

   Max and Neil appeared from the forest, both shirtless and with black marking on their faces. Max carried a long stick with a knife strapped to it.

   "What do you losers want?" Ered asked, looking at them with distaste.

   "Justice!" Neil called.

   "You guys are here to rescue me?" David asked eagerly.

   "No, shut up David," said Max, barely glancing in the counselor's direction.

   Ered scoffed. "I'd like to see you try and fight us." ' _She better not be including me.'_

   Max grinned wolfishly. "Gladly." He spun his weapon around him in wide arcs but when he slammed down by his side, the knife toppled off from its perch on the stick. "That's tragic," Matilda commented. 

   "Shut it, traitor!" Max called to her.

   "Hey, I either stay with you with no books or stay here where they have food!"

   "Nikki," Ered said slowly. "Attack." The turquoise-haired girl fell down on all fours and barked at Max who began circling her. As they squared off, the Sun made it's appearance, bringing with it morning.

   "No fighting!" David called out. "Violence never solves anything!"

   "Stabe her, bitch!" Gwen exclaimed into her I-Pad.

   Matilda winced when Nikki lunged at Max, torn between keeping out of it and being safe or intervening and stopping both children from severely hurting themselves.

   Harrison poked his head from the hole he was in. "I'll save you, Nikki!" he called and held out a hand, palm facing front. "Fire!" Fire shot out from his palm and hit the rope that held David and Gwen to the flagpole. Matilda let out a screech as she back away, panic filling her as she ran into the Hall into the kitchen. ' _I need to find water, I need to find water.'_ Repeating that phrase like a mantra in her head, she spotted a shelf that held bowls up above her. Two were levitated down and Matilda stuck them under the tap. When both were full, she quickly made her way outside, sloshing water from the bowls as she did.

   She threw both bowls the same time the car hit David. The bowls were thrust forwards when the front of the car hit David on the cheek, said man screaming in pain. A sharp pain suddenly blossomed on top of Matilda's head, causing her to lose her balance and fall backward; Gwen's I-Pad had fallen on top of her head. 

   Everyone froze and turned their attention to the yellow car that had nearly killed David. The driver stepped out and flashed a smile at his stunned audience.

   "Did somebody say," Campbell said. "Cameron Campbell?"

   "Umm, no?" said Gwen.

   Despite being set on fire and getting hit by a car, David's eyes sparkled at the sight of the other man. "Mr. Campbell? You saved me!"

   "He hit you with your car," Matilda pointed out, standing up and brushing the dust from her dress. "Lovely tracking device, Campbell."

   Said man waved at her. "Why, thank you for noticing, my dear! And yes, David! I definitely saw you and was fully aware hitting you with my car would be the best source of action!" Matilda scowled at that and marched off to help the other campers out of the hole. ' _David, no, you shouldn't be apologizing to that man. And "things got a little out of hand" my ass! There's a hole in the wall! Wait, there was another revolution before this?! What even?'_

As she helped Dolph out of the hole, Matilda watched from the corner of her eye as Campbell entered the Mess Hall and came out counting a large wad of money. Peering into the hole, she saw a safe that she had not noticed before. 

   "Hey, Cam," said Max, looking frustrated. "Can't you see this guy is a terrible counselor and needs to be dealt with?"

   But Campbell was still giving his full attention to the money he was counting. "Eh?" he finally said. "Oh, sorry kid, I've got other things to deal with. Campbell's got a poker game to get to! I'm not gonna give too many details, but let's just say if I win, I could end u being Prime Minister of Thailand!"

   "Hoodlum," hissed Matilda as she struggled to heave Nurf from the hole. "Lout, ruffian, miscreant, no good son of a-"

   "But our revolution," Neil was saying weakly as if that would have an effect on Campbell.

   "This is serious," Max said. "We're leading a charge to make a difference! We are the 99%! I saw it on TV!" 

   "I also saw Coruscant on TV and wanted to live there, but look at me now," muttered Matilda to Nerris who patted her on the back. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nerris sharing confused looks with Harrison. ' _They'll never understand my struggles.'_

   In the end, everyone except Campbell had to clean the entire camp. The campers complained about not having breakfast, but Campbell firmly replied that this was their punishment for blowing a hole in the Hall. So, with sullen frowns and grumbles, they retrieved the cleaning supplies and got to work.

   "Was it worth it?" Matilda asked Ered at dinner, which the others happily ate.

   Ered stared at her before obtaining a thoughtful look on her face for a moment. Then she said, "Yes and no. Yes because we had a sick party and no because we still had to clean the camp. And that was lame."

   

   

   

   

  

      

    

   

   

   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -In the musical Le Mis, Enjolras is the leader of Les Amis de l'ABC. But according to the fandom powered wiki, he is "capable of being a terrible leader."  
> -Challenger Deep is a book by Neal Shusterman and it is one of the reasons why I live  
> -Coruscant is a planet in Star Wars. According to the fandom wiki, it is "arguably one of the galaxy's most influential and important planets."


End file.
